A BASIC GUIDE TO

THE SCIENCE
OF
INSULATION

PREPARED BY

greenTEG

Hofwisenstr. 50A wwwgreenteg.com

CH-8153 Rümlang ZH ingo@greenteg.com
Switzerland
+41 44 515 09 15
 PAGE 1

The case for energy efficiency in buildings.

WHY DO WE NEED INSULATION?

Although sound insulation is also

desirable in a comfortable building
(specially in noisy environments,
such as a city), it is probably heat
insulation the most critical variable
for a house.
Heat insulation is a matter of
energy efficiency. A properly
insulated building will retain heat
and cool much better, saving
energy and money.

Energy savings could also dramatically reduce the carbon

footprint of a house, in terms of energy consumed to make it
livable during cold or heat climatic conditions.
These savings are of utmost importance in a world facing a
climate crisis due to carbon emissions.

What is the carbon footprint of a house?

It is the total amount of greenhouse gases produced to build a
house and create the right conditions for the dwellers to live in,
usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2).
 PAGE 2

Understanding thermal efficiency in buildings.

HOW DOES INSULATION
WORK?
Heat Insulation is about blocking the heat flux (or heat
transfer) between the inside and outside of a building.
Therefore, to understand thermal insulation we should
understand how thermal performance works.

Heat is a form of energy. It can be transferred in three

different ways: conduction, convection and radiation. Each
of them needs a temperature difference, and the result is that
the heat is transferred from the potential with higher
temperature to the one with lower temperature.
However, only conduction and convection are relevant to
understand insulation.

Conduction can take place in solids, liquids and gases. The

velocity of heat conduction through the system depends on the
geometrical configuration of it, thickness and material it is made of
and the temperature difference between its ends or limits.

Convection heat transfer is the mode of energy transfer between

a solid surface and the adjacent liquid or gas that is in motion, and
it involves the combined effects of conduction and fluid motion.
Convection heat transfer depends on the fluid properties such as
dynamic viscosity, thermal conductivity, density, specific heat and
fluid velocity, as well as the geometry and the roughness of the
solid surface.
 PAGE 3

How does conduction work?

CALCULATING HEAT
CONDUCTION THROUGH A
WALL

The heat conduction through a wall

is proportional to the temperature
difference through it and the area
of heat transfer, but inversely
proportional to the thickness of the
wall.

Under steady conditions, temperature

distribution in a plane wall (Yunus A
Çengel 2004) (1)

The process is explained by the Fourier’s law of heat conduction, where

Where:
𝑄̇𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑: heat transfer trough the wall (J/s=W).
k: thermal conductivity (W/(m·K)).
A: transversal area of heat transfer (m2).
L: wall thickness (m).
T: temperature difference (K).
 PAGE 4

How does convection work? Basic equation.

CALCULATING CONVECTION

Convection is considered the most

complex mechanism of heat
transfer. It can be expressed by
Newton’s law of cooling:

Where:

Q̇conv: heat transfer (W).

h: convection heat transfer coefficient (W/m2·ºC).
As: heat transfer surface area (m2).
Ts: temperature of the surface (ºC).
Tf: temperature of the fluid surrounding the surface (ºC).

It is important to draw attention to the convection heat transfer coefficient,

which is the value of heat transferred between a solid surface and a fluid.

It is difficult to determine the convection heat transfer coefficient because

convection depends on the multiple variables mentioned before. Moreover, it
also changes through the fluid. As a solution we can take the average value.
For more info, go to the next page.

(1) Yunus A Çengel 2004: Heat transfer: a practical approach, New York, McGraw-Hill 2nd ed
 PAGE 5

How does convection work?Further considerations.

CALCULATING CONVECTION
The convection heat transfer coefficient is influenced by the type of flow, laminar or
turbulent.
Laminar:

Turbulent:

Where:
Nu: Nussel number.
Pr: Prandlt number.
Re: Reynolds number.
Lc: characteristic length (m)
h: convection heat transfer coefficient in laminar flow (W/(m2·K)).

The convection heat transfer coefficient is

influenced by the Reynolds number, which
determines the type of the flow. In this
figure we represent the average heat
transfer coefficient for a plate with laminar
and turbulent flow (Yunus A Çengel, 2004)
(1). It shows how it changes through the
fluid flow.

Where:
hx,laminar: convection heat transfer coefficient in laminar flow (W/(m2·K)).
hx,turbulent: convection heat transfer coefficient in turbulent flow (W/(m2·K)).
haverage: mean convection heat transfer (W/(m2·K)).

The maximal convection heat transfer coefficient value is at the transition

between turbulent and laminar flow.

(1) Yunus A Çengel 2004: Heat transfer: a practical approach, New York, McGraw-Hill 2nd ed
 PAGE 6

Combining conduction and convection calculations.

CALCULATING HEAT TRANSFER
THROUGH A WALL

Thermal resistance network for a heat transfer through a plane wall subjected to convection on
both sides. (Yunus A Çengel 2004) (1)

Calculating heat conduction through a wall

The formula for calculting heat conduction through a wall is:

Where:

where:

𝑄̇:̇ total heat transferred (W).

T∞1:temperature outside the wall (ºC).
T∞2:temperature inside the wall (ºC).
h1/2: convection heat transfer coefficient outside (1) and inside (2) the wall (W/m2·K).
k: conduction heat transfer coefficient of the wall (W/m·K).
L: thickness of the wall (m).
A: total transversal area (m2).

The specific heat flow (q) is the total heat flow 𝑄̇ divided by the area A:

(1) Yunus A Çengel 2004: Heat transfer: a practical approach, New York, McGraw-Hill 2nd ed
 PAGE 7

Main values for insulation measurement.

U-VALUE AND R-VALUE
U-value
The U-Value is the thermal transmittance of any material. If we go back to the
formula explained previously, it would be:

With the U-Value we can also calculate the heat flow through the wall, which is
proportional to the thermal transmittance and the temperature difference between
both sides:

R-value
The R value is the thermal resistance of any material. It is the quantity determined by the
temperature difference, at steady state, between two defined surfaces of a material or
construction that induces a unit heat flow through a unit area. Equation is as follows:

Mathematically, both the U- and the R-value describe the thermal performance of
a building element. Both values are reciprocal. The lower the U-value, the
higher the R value and the better the thermal performance of the assessed
element.

It might be easier to understand that an R-value of 𝑅1 = 8 is better than an R-

value of 𝑅2 = 4 instead of dealing with the corresponding U-values, which are
below one: 𝑈1 = 0.125 and 𝑈2 = 0.25.
One should always be aware of the composition of the stated R- or U-value as
they sometimes indicate only one component of the element.
Hofwisenstr. 50A wwwgreenteg.com
CH-8153 Rümlang ZH ingo@greenteg.com
Switzerland
+41 44 515 09 15